THE production of raw cashew nuts is projected to increase to 595,000 tonnes in the 2024/2025 harvest season, up from 310,787 tonnes produced last season (2023/2024), the Cashewnuts Board of Tanzania (CBT) has said.
The Board’s Director of Marketing and Quality Control, Mr Revelian Ngaiza, made the revelation here over the weekend, stating that a study by CBT indicated better yields of cashew nuts in most of the cashew farming-based regions. “Better yields are attributed to the early distribution of subsidised inputs ahead of the farming season,” he said.
Mr Ngaiza was speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) in Mtwara Region to discuss trends of cashew nuts transportation through Mtwara Port towards the upcoming cashew auctions set to begin on October 11 this year. Briefing the meeting about the upcoming Cashew auctions, Mr Ngaiza said CBT has already prepared and distributed required rules and guidelines for the 2024/2025 auctions to stakeholders, including buyers.
The board has started issuing raw cashew nut buying licenses for the primary market and auctions to be conducted through the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) platform. Mr Ngaiza said CBT, in collaboration with the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC) and the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), has already prepared container stuffing, a process by which raw cashew nuts are loaded into a container to be shipped.
The board has also identified and set aside warehouses for storing the raw cashew nuts. Meanwhile, Acting Mtwara Regional Commissioner Ms Zainabu Taleck asked the TPA, CBT, shipping agencies and other people involved to work closely and ensure raw cashew nuts to be exported are shipped through Mtwara Port as per the government’s directives.
“I call upon the TPA to work closely with ship agents and the other parties involved to ensure the smooth handling and shipping of raw cashew nuts to be exported,” she said.
Last week, TPA delivered a total of 459 containers to handle raw cashew nuts to be exported via Mtwara Port in the upcoming cashew auctions season. The containers were delivered by GH TRANMOTANE Ship.